Data centers have become very densely populated spaces where multiple components such as switches, routers, directors or servers are interconnected by a multitude of cables. These hardware components are typically mounted on racks so that multiple components may be interconnected using short lengths of cables. Such cables may be fiber optic cables including cable harnesses. Longer jumper cables or trunk cables (multiple fibers enclosed under one jacket) are used for interconnecting equipment within a data center room or to other equipment in a local area network (LAN).
A rack may be used to mount a hardware component described as a blade; due to the small size (thin profile) and high density of the component. For example, a Brocade Fiber Channel Switch or Ethernet or Ethernet/Network switch or CISCO Fiber Channel or Ethernet/Network Switch backbone component provides an 8 to 100 Gbps network switching platform for a data center storage area network (SAN) or telecommunications system; including as many as 864 fiber channel ports by combining up to 13 “blades,” containing 12-, 16-, 18-, 24-, 32-, 48-, or 64-port fiber channel blades in a single rack chassis.
Such hardware blade components are interconnected by fiber optic cables including terminations at the ends of the cables with fiber optic connectors. For example, individually channeled fiber connectors may be LC type connectors, such as LC Pro-Slide or mSFP-LC-Pro-Slide connectors as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,588,373. A typical fiber-optic cable harness has multiple individually channeled fiber connectors furcated at a first end and a single cable at a second end terminated by a multi-fiber connector, such as an MTP® connector.
A typical means for attaching cables to a rack involves sorting individually bagged jumpers, uncoiling them and dressing them into place with the intent of providing a well organized connectivity infrastructure. When done properly, this process is very time consuming, up to 1 hour per blade. Even when cables are shipped on spools, their removal can be difficult and result in an unmanaged process. They are difficult to tell apart unless there is some management system. Although dividers may be used in the container to attempt to contain the cables, this organizing means is usually unsuccessful and the cables may slip past a divider. Bends in the cables may damage or break the fiber inside the cables and affect the transmission characteristics and the efficiency of the cables. Without a specific cable management system, during shipment and installation once the cables arrive at a data center, the installation may be difficult and extremely time consuming.
Thus, a cost effective system for managing and organization of cables during shipment and installation to hardware components is desired to overcome the above problems with previously known systems.